Pollen pandemonium: Allergy sufferers face intense season

Friday

Apr 26, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Ahhh! Springtime. The days are longer. The sun is warmer. Trees are budding and daffodils and crocuses are bursting with color. That's all good. But the downside is that the trees, flowers and grass are producing pollen, a plant's male reproductive cells, which cause allergies for many people.

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Ahhh! Springtime. The days are longer. The sun is warmer. Trees are budding and daffodils and crocuses are bursting with color.

That's all good. But the downside is that the trees, flowers and grass are producing pollen, a plant's male reproductive cells, which cause allergies for many people.

In fact, some experts believe that rising carbon dioxide levels and warming temperatures caused in part by climate change are causing an earlier and longer growing season, resulting in more pollen for a longer period of time and more potent pollen.

In essence, this could be one of the most miserable allergy seasons for people who suffer with outdoor allergies, some experts say.

“Yes, we're seeing allergies sooner and potentially more severe,” said Dr. John S. Sullivan, an allergist at Central Mass Allergy and Asthma Care in Worcester and Auburn.

Dr. Stephen J. Krinzman, medical director at the Lung and Allergy Center at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said people are lining up for the clinic.

“We definitely have long waits to get in,” said Dr. Krinzman. “Our clinic is already fully booked. The waits get longer as the allergies get worse.”

Allergy symptoms occur when the immune system reacts to a part of the pollen or other allergic substance. Symptoms, including congestion, shortness of breath, coughing, itchy eyelids, and runny nose and sneezing, occur when the pollen comes in contact with a mucus membrane or, in cases of asthma, the lining of the lungs.

Dr. Leonard Bielory, an allergy and immunology specialist with the Rutgers University Center for Environmental Prediction, has been studying the connection between climate change and the production of pollen. He said a model developed of ragweed pollen counts from Texas to Canada over a 15-year period, ending in 2009, revealed that the pollen season has begun increasingly early in the northern states and has lasted longer.

“That suggests we're having longer exposure which means the higher the misery. We have predicted that by 2020, there will be 20 to 30 percent more pollen floating around,” Dr. Bielory said.

He said pollen is dependent upon the duration of sunlight, warm temperatures and moisture. The latter is not only affected by immediate precipitation, but even that from the previous year has an impact.

“Superstorm Sandy saturated the ground last year and provided the soil with nutrients and water to be stored over the winter, so there's a reservoir of nutrients which is already going to increase this year's pollen count,” Dr. Bielory said.

Trees usually release pollen in early spring, followed by grass pollen and weeds in the fall. But unusual this year is an overlap of tree and grass pollen, said Dr. Bielory.

About one in five Americans — about 60 million — suffers from some type of allergy. Pollen is a common allergen, but the list also includes certain foods, drugs, mold, latex and insects, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. About 40 million list allergies to pollen, mold or plant material as their primary allergy, but many people have more than one type.

Clare Krug of Worcester, 11, has pollen-food syndrome, also called oral allergy syndrome. It causes people allergic to some pollens, particularly birch, grass and weed, to develop a food allergy that causes itching and localized swelling when they eat certain raw fruits and vegetables. This is because of proteins in foods to which the person is allergic. Because the proteins are broken down by heat, no reaction occurs when the food is cooked.

Clare's mother, Sharon Krug, said that when Clare was 8, an allergist determined that she was very allergic to birch tree pollen. Subsequent tests found that she is also allergic to certain foods, including raw apples and carrots and certain nuts.

“She gets an itchy throat. She feels like her lips are swelling. She will itch up into her ears. She doesn't get a physical rash on her body but it almost hurts to swallow,” said Ms. Krug.

Ms. Krug's 6-year-old son, Scott, is mildly allergic to peanuts. Both children and their father are allergic to penicillin. Their paternal grandmother is allergic to birch and to certain foods, as Clare is. According to experts, if one parent has allergies, there is a 33 percent that an offspring will. The chances increase to 70 percent if both parents are allergic.

“We have pistachios in the house, which no one is allergic to,” continued Ms. Krug. “I feel very fortunate that their allergies are not more severe. I know some people really suffer more than our family does.”

No cures exist for allergies, but there are many products over the counter and by prescription that are available to help minimize symptoms. Dr. Sullivan said people with mild symptoms should first try non-drowsy or non-sedating antihistamines. Those with more persistent symptoms should use antihistamines regularly. One of the best medications to manage allergies is nasal spray that contains topical cortisone. A nasal saline, to wash pollen out of the nose and sinuses, is very helpful.

The closest thing to a cure is allergy immunotherapy, a means of building up tolerance to allergies by taking increasing dosages of allergic substances, similar to immunization for the flu.

Avoidance of pollen and other allergens is the best prevention. For more information, go to Ipollencount.com.

Contact Elaine Thompson at ethompson@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @EThompsonTG

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